Interpreter-mediated psychotherapy. Interaction and perception, process and outcome

Description: Due to current political and demographic developments, multilingual psychotherapy for refugees and migrants is becoming increasingly relevant. Interpreters are often indispensable in bridging the language barrier between patient and therapist. Their presence is, however, not without consequences: the dyadic relationship between therapists and patients becomes a triad. In this project we analyze how therapists, patients and interpreters co-construct the therapeutic relationship over the course of a therapy, which takes, on average, 12 sessions. Focus is on verbal and non-verbal communicative means to display trust and empathy. We combine three methods: interviews, a questionnaire and interactional anlaysis of recorded sessions. This research is ocnducted by a transdisciplinary team combining expertise from the fields of psychology, interpreting studies and linguistics.
Promoter(s): July De Wilde , Claudio Scarvaglieri
Researcher(s): Peter Muntigl
Faculty / Faculties: Faculty of Arts and Philosophy
Period of time: 2023 - 2025